2020 TOP 100 GOOD PRACTICE STORY...2020 TOP 100 GOOD PRACTICE STORY Title of the Story: Ecological Sanctuary of Pipa Destination Name: Pipa Beach, Tibau do Sul city, Rio Grande do

2020 TOP 100 GOOD PRACTICE STORY

Title of the Story: Ecological Sanctuary of Pipa

Destination Name:

Pipa Beach, Tibau do Sul city, Rio Grande do Norte state

Country: Brazil

Submitter name: Elizabeth Bauchwitz

Email address: [email protected]

Position: Tourism Secretary

Nomination Category: (Please check the boxes that indicate the focus of your

story)

☐ Culture & Communities

☒ Environment & Climate

☐ Nature & Ecotourism

☐ Islands & Seaside

☐ Immediate responses in dealing with the COVID -19

☐ Post COVID -19 recovery

☐ One of the 17 SDGs* (if yes, which one) Click or tap to choose

*The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by all United Nations Member States

in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure that all people enjoy peace and prosperity by

2030. The 17 SDGs are integrated—that is, they recognize that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that

development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability. What are the Sustainable Development Goals?

https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals.html

For further information on Tourism for SDGs: http://tourism4sdgs.org/

Find detailed instructions for submitting good practices here

DESCRIBE YOUR GOOD PRACTICE STORY

Address each aspect of your good practice story in the different sections being specific including relevant quantitative

and qualitative information.

Issues faced What was the problem/issue solved with the good practice? When the first Europeans arrived in Brazil, in 1500, the Atlantic Forest covered 15% of the Brazilian territory. The biome consists mainly of forest along the coastal coast that runs from Rio Grande do Norte to Rio Grande do Sul and presents a variety of formations, encompassing a diverse set of forest ecosystems with very different structure and floristic compositions, following the climatic characteristics the region where it occurs. About 70% of the Brazilian population lives in the territory of the Atlantic Forest, springs and water sources supply cities, this is one of the factors that has contributed to the problems of water crisis, associated with scarcity, waste, and misuse of water, deforestation and pollution. Currently, the Atlantic Forest that has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999 is reduced to 7.84% of its area, with approximately 102,000 km2 and considered the second most endangered ecosystem in the world. The situation in the municipality of Tibau do Sul in the 1980s was no different, Since the sixteenth century, the area has been susceptible to logging, yet this is one of the few local forests still characterised by the endangered “ Pau-Brasil (Brazilwood) tree”

Methods, steps and tools applied In 1986, Chácara do Madeiro passes into the hands of Mr. David Maurice Hassett, a visionary, eternal passionate about nature, graduated in Economics from the University of London, which creates the Ecological Sanctuary of Pipa, a conservation space, becoming its guardian, thus avoiding the exploitation of wood, environmental devastation, the slide of the cliff of Madeiro and, mainly its real estate exploitation. In 1986, a new era of reforestation begins, restoring the degraded area and an extreme care for nature. Plants are cataloged and 3 sectors and 16 trails open to the public with different degrees of difficulty are created, where visitors must observe the Park Code of Conduct. It conserves about 80 hectares of Atlantic Forest and ensures that beaches such as Baía dos Golfinhos and part of Madeiro Beach remain almost wild. In 2003/4, the Ecological Sanctuary of Pipa established a partnership with the Tamar Project (Fundação Pró-TAMAR is a private, non-profit entity, whose mission is “To develop conservation and research actions for sea turtles, promoting change in the society's behavior, seeking to free them from the threat of extinction ”). As of the 2003/2004 season, the standard methodology employed by TAMAR in the Integral Study Areas, with daily monitoring of the beaches and inventory of the nests after hatching was adopted, representing the zero mark for the comparable historical series between the years. The 9 km monitored in Tibau do Sul is the area in the state of Rio Grande do Norte with the longest historical series with standardized data collection and has been used as an index to assess trends in populations. A permanent exhibition on turtles with samples of shells and skeletons is also available to visitors. The Chácara is currently the site of an intriguing scientific experience: training and releasing wild animals to recompose the region's ancient fauna (controlled reintroduction). To this end, we have the support of the Center for the Recovery and Reintroduction of Wild Animals (CERRAS) in Natal, and a team of dedicated volunteers. With the reforestation and the recovered forest, wild animals live in the sanctuary, in their habitat. Among them: lizards, tortoises, boa constrictors, anteater, timbu, rat-dog, fox, raccoon, wild cat. In an area of 80 hectares, the forest of the Ecological Sanctuary has, on average, 800 thousand specimens of woody plants.

Key success factors What helped you tackle the issues?

Lessons learned While implementing the Good Practice what challenges were faced, and how were they overcome? It is possible to create a synergy between the community and the environment with benefits for both, most of the times immeasurable; Tourism and the environment can live economically and socially without conflicts, with structured projects and planning of public and private policies;

Results, achievements and recognitions

• Mr. David Hassett, a visionary person who with his action made the Ecological Sanctuary a historic

monument, an ecological reserve and a laboratory of the future

• The community is fully involved (ownership) with this open space, creating a point of coexistence

between local citizens, tourists and nature.

• Partnership with Projeto Tamar

• Development of a large number of educational, environmental and sustainability projects aimed

at raising the awareness of local people and visitors;

• Recognition of the community and society of Tibau do Sul, as the best that could have happened

for the region, becoming the pride of the tibauenses.

What were the qualitative and quantitative results of the good practice? Has it received any rewards? Many results have already been achieved at the Ecological Sanctuary, but the following should be highlighted: * Currently, the looging and / or deforestation is avoided through warning signs, and weekly monitored by a team from the Ecological Sanctuary itself. In addition, IDEMA (Institute of Sustainable Development and Environment) inspects, as a state agency, through CIPAM - Independent Environmental Protection Company, the state's conservation units. As the Sanctuary is located in an APA (Environmental Protection Area) it is also included in these inspection routines, obeying Federal law 140. •In an area of 80 hectares, the forest of the Ecological Sanctuary has approximately 800 thousand specimens of woody plants. There are certainly rare and unknown species in the forests of this region. As an example, a new species of papaya (scientific name Pradosia restingae Terra-Araujo, from the Sapoti family) has just been identified, among the most common plants in the Sanctuary. •Three hundred sea turtles, per season, choose Tibau do Sul for their nests, all monitored and classified by the Tamar Project x Ecological Sanctuary. •A new species of bird, the Chorozinho-da-Caatinga (scientific name Herpsilochmus sellowi Whitney & Pacheco 2000) was discovered in our forests and later found in Caatinga areas of all states in the Northeast •The Sanctuary also receives around 100 groups per year, composed of teachers and students of Basic Education, technical colleges and universities. There are more than 4,000 students per year throughout these years. 30 years, making a total of 120,000 people aware of the environment. It also receives tourists and independent vacationers. •According to the Study carried out by Instituto Totum and by the Luiz de Queiroz Higher School of Agriculture (ESALQ), of the University of São Paulo in partnership with the SOS Mata Atlântica Foundation, it is estimated that each tree in the Atlantic Forest absorbs 163, 14 kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent over from its first 20 years, which brings us an incalculable benefit from the contribution of the 80 hectares and its 800 thousand specimens of woody plants from the Ecological Sanctuary to the city of Tibau do Sul. •In 2002, the Sanctuary was one of the winners of the Prize for Educational Projects models in the Brazilian Botanical Gardens, focused on the theme “Education for the conservation of native plant species”.

Additional references

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4A8IEepCMo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcmVCIdZIKA

https://www.feriasbrasil.com.br/rn/pipaetibaudosul/santuarioecologicodepipa.cfm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yqp2_vxaLE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDJXmqeaKVM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6dzHP0P880

https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/hsbc-launches-50-million-environmental-protection-effort (award)

https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/auk/v117n04/p00869-p00891.pdf (new specie page 9)

https://www.google.com/search?q=santuario+ecologico+pipa&sxsrf=ALeKk00TK4-

CtkuVYwWRZ8iFYx1eX7YOPQ:1593444613637&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=jFoS_nBCMRbe8M%252CyhFb-

5mckQyYeM%252C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kSO88Kb0bAPUQ5W2t1N6ZdJfyt-

mg&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiisqjhq6fqAhUaK7kGHXXXD5cQ9QEwBnoECAoQEw&biw=1366&bih=657#imgrc=jFoS_

nBCMRbe8M (photos)